Tyson is making history with every word he writes and speaks. However, he falls short when it comes to delivering historical information on his series. The narrative driving “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” is presented from a Western, Euro-centric perspective. Some statements made on the show are historically inaccurate. Other statements clearly place importance on European contributions to science while excluding discoveries made by other cultures. Racial and cultural inclusion within science history would make the information he provides on “Cosmos” accurate and empowering to all.

The Ancient Egyptians Studied The Stars 5000 Years Before Europeans

Tyson tells the audience that the cosmic perspective is a relatively modern phenomena. He says, “This cosmic perspective is relatively new, a mere 4 centuries ago our tiny world was oblivious to the cosmos, there were no telescopes the universe was only what you can see with the naked eye.”

This statement is not correct. Not only did the Ancient Egyptians have a grasp on the cosmic perspective more than 5,000 years before European scientists, but astronomy was an integral part of Ancient Egyptian society. Astronomers and architects worked together to construct temples, pyramids and monuments in alignment with cardinal points within the stars. For instance, the Great Pyramids have air shafts facing south that point to the star Sirius, marking the start of the Egyptian year. Orion, which represents death and rebirth, is also a focal point.

The Mysteries of Nature Were Decoded Before Modern Astronomy

Tyson attempts to put the age of the universe into perspective by using one Earth calendar year. He draws parallels between the last 40,000 years of human history and the last 60 seconds of the last hour on the last day of the calendar year. He then says, “Moses was born 7 seconds ago. Buddha, 6 seconds ago. Jesus, 5 seconds ago. Mohammed, 4 seconds ago. It was not even 2 seconds ago that, for better or worse, the two halves of the earth discovered each other. It was only in the last second we used science to unlock and reveal nature and her laws.”

Their discoveries occurred before the birth of Moses. The Stone Circles found in Nabta Playa serve as physical evidence of a 365- day calendar created by Egyptian astronomers. These early scientists were well-versed in observing stellar events such as the conjunctions, phases and risings of the Sun, Moon and planets.

Using science to understand nature even predates the modern religions that presently object to its findings. Ancient Egyptians incorporated what we now call science into almost every facet of their civilization. For instance, astronomy was instrumental in mapping time to understand cyclical changes in nature and improve agricultural planning. The Stone Circle found in Nabta Playa was originally created to assist farmers by predicting Nile river flooding. Ancient civilizations in China and India used astronomy to predict climate and seasonal changes as well.

The Mr. And I watched all four episodes of the series on the weekend and we were side eyeing some of the ideas and concepts this show promotes.

It's like deadly theatre.

I researched a lot about the Khemu people and they knew quite a lot more then we give them credit, they had much more advanced mathematics higher than geometry. And he needs to give the Dogon their tributes to a lot of discoveries as well. Africans had very advance cosmologists who knew the cosmos better then most until very recent history.

He was shoving Atheism down the viewers throats in the 2nd or 3rd episode....(keep religion out of it dude)

Given who he is, I just expected more I guess...Still a fan though...

And this is the man that said he is agnostic, you might want to put some critical thinking but not out right atheism that's preaching. This is obiviously has a strong agenda besides teaching astrophysics to the viewers.

The Mr. And I watched all four episodes of the series on
the weekend and we were side eyeing some of the ideas and concepts this
show promotes.

It's like deadly theatre.

Yup.
Those were my thoughts as well.

indiecat wrote:

Other cultures were more advanced than the Europeans, I guess he would get Into trouble if he said that. He should have taken this show to pbs so he could speak the truth.

I know they are trying to make the show
popular with the masses, but it is heavily centered around European
contributions. The whole time I'm watching I'm thinking about how the Europeans stole this information from other cultures. Especially when he talked about the first printing press and books. Much of the information was stolen from Timbuktu and the libraries burned.

*Sigh* I know the show wouldn't be popular if didn't give homage to almighty anglo's

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot create polls in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum